A source package is the source archive of which on or more binary packages can be compiled. Those binary packages are most often referred to as just packages.

Example: from the source package 'nautilus' the following binary packages are compiled:

• libnautilus-extension-dev
• libnautilus-extension1
• nautilus
• nautilus-data
• nautilus-dbg

Finding the source package

You can find the source package of a certain package with:

• The search box at the home page of Ubuntu in Launchpad

• The command apt-cache show ${package name} | grep ^Source:

  • If you get nothing from the previous command, the package name is the same as the name of the source package.